10 Marvel Franchises That Could Replace The Avengers

3. Secret Avengers

Marvel Comics

Although yes, technically speaking Secret Avengers is still an Avengers comic, the premise is markedly different to that of the mainstream team's. There's an espionage focus, and though it's true that audiences have already seen that genre explored in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the buck doesn't stop with it. In fact, Marvel have a whole library of spy-themed tails to adapt for the big-screen, and in competing with other heavyweights in that genre - like, say, Mission Impossible - it's more than worth the effort.

Placing Black Widow, Hawkeye, Nick Fury and Agent Carter at the helm, a new Secret Avengers series (going by a non-Avengers related moniker of course), has the potential to be a massive draw for Marvel. Factor in the team's other members, like Valkyrie, Moon Knight, and other secretive characters, and you can make the Avengers' covert contingent a vital part of the Marvel Universe. Granted, the threats faced would pale in comparison to Thanos' advances, but that's a problem all future Marvel projects will have to deal with.

On top of the aforementioned group making their way into the spotlight, a Secret Avengers series also opens up the door for Spider-Woman to join the fray. Jessica Drew was a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent after all, and while it could be argued that Marvel have this all covered when it comes to TV, having a regular, full-blooded spy epic return every few years or so would make for a welcome addition to their cinematic slate.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.